At this stage, it won’t matter that Brendan Shanahan is going to evaluate Randy Carlyle and the Maple Leafs together for just one game now that he is officially team president.

The Leafs are a quick study. They are bad. And that’s why they arrived here early Friday from a loss in Florida to hear that Shanahan was now overseeing everything from general manager Dave Nonis, to the coaching staff to the big-ticket, small-return roster.

Toronto plays out the schedule with Game 82 against the Senators on Saturday, with Shanahan to be formally introduced at the Air Canada Centre on Monday. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment finally made the announcement Friday morning that the 45-year-old was president and alternate governor, though will not make any comment until Monday.

But Carlyle, who many think will pay the price for the team’s letdown, could not have been encouraged by MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke’s bold signing from the NHL office and what it could mean for his future.

“Shanny has a new voice, a new say in what he determines as the right way to go,” a fidgety Carlyle said after practice at Carelton University. “That’s why they hired him.

“I’m trying to live my life as a hockey coach, do the things you do, come to work, try to be positive. Honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Our job doesn’t change dramatically. Obviously, with the situation we’re in, it makes it more difficult. But we still have to come to work. The sun did come up today, didn’t it?”

Well, it didn’t cast a better light on the standings, which put the Leafs out of the Eastern Conference’s top eight as of Tuesday, with losses in 11 of the past 13 games.

Still, Shanahan would owe it to Carlyle and the team to take full stock of what happened in 2013-14. A month earlier, the Leafs were out on the West Coast riding a post-Olympic surge and talking about a second-place finish in the conference. How much of the dramatic fall that ensued can will traced to behind the bench, on the bench or to the hockey operations department?

Rather than interpret Shanahan’s appointment as the start of a major house-cleaning, the Leafs tried to bring some levity to the rink on Friday. Many players got to encounter Shanahan already in his New York digs, through a series of suspensions, everything from David Clarkson’s ill-timed leap over the boards in September to goalie interference and hits from behind. Fines and time in the stands have ensued.

“We joke a bit about it, how he owes a couple of guys here some money,” said winger James van Riemsdyk.

“I haven’t met him yet, so I don’t want to comment much, but his resume speaks for itself. He’s won championships, he’s a Hall of Fame player, so I’m sure he knows what it takes to win from that perspective.

“It’s always good to have people like that associated with your team.

“We’ll meet him in the next couple of weeks and I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”

Shanahan likely wanted to be hired in time for the exit-meeting process this month. Centre Nazem Kadri said players knew there was going to be change to some degree and why not start with bringing in a person of Shanahan’s stature?

“It’s kind of a refreshing feel,” Kadri said. “A chance to evaluate the season and overlook what we’ve done. He’s going to bring a lot of depth to the organization. Twenty (one) years in the league, a few Stanley Cups.

“It’s the first time he’s ever done something such as this, but he’s been around the game a long time. I’m sure he’ll have some input into decisions, we’ll just have to see which ones they are.”

With or without Shanahan, unrestricted free agents such as Nikolai Kulemin won’t likely be back, at least with a big raise. Then there will be harder decisions on Dave Bolland, Jay McClement and defenceman Paul Ranger. Restricted free agent goalie James Reimer and defenceman Cody Franson also have one foot out the door after their part in the team’s woes of the past few weeks.

Shanahan will also have to fathom the long-term deals given players such as Clarkson and captain Dion Phaneuf. They can’t likely be moved, so they’ll have to be accommodated in different roles with a new support group. At least Clarkson could claim a connection to the new boss through his early days in New Jersey, overlapping Shanahan’s final appearance in 2008-09 before retiring.

“Congratulations to him, he’s done something special,” Clarkson said of the new post. “He was a great teammate who played the game hard.”

Clarkson, who has spoken so highly of their former GM in Jersey, Lou Lamoriello, said he can see the latter’s influence in what Shanahan has managed in his career.

“There’s a reason Mr. Lamoriello had done what he’s done and had the people around him. Every player who plays for him learns something and that’s the reason he is where he is today.”

Interestringly, this is one of those rare years the Devils haven’t made the playoffs. Some have wondered if Peter DeBoer gets moved from behind the Jersey bench and, if so, whether Shanahan would see him as a replacement for Carlyle, with an eye to re-igniting Clarkson.

Expect much more intrigue regarding Shanahan’s impact on Bay St., as the summer unfolds.

Maple Leafs players and coaches welcome Brendan Shanahan's arrival

At this stage, it won’t matter that Brendan Shanahan is going to evaluate Randy Carlyle and the Maple Leafs together for just one game now that he is officially team president.

The Leafs are a quick study. They are bad. And that’s why they arrived here early Friday from a loss in Florida to hear that Shanahan was now overseeing everything from general manager Dave Nonis, to the coaching staff to the big-ticket, small-return roster.

Toronto plays out the schedule with Game 82 against the Senators on Saturday, with Shanahan to be formally introduced at the Air Canada Centre on Monday. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment finally made the announcement Friday morning that the 45-year-old was president and alternate governor, though will not make any comment until Monday.